This 601-word (four-minute reading) essay is written about the significance of perception that is not based on our physical senses and scientific reasoning but gets stimulation from intelligent, moral and ethical thinking. Enjoy!
by Promod Puri
Perception, a pivotal element in human advancement, is not solely perceived or tied to empirical evidence acquired through our senses or scientific measurements.
According to the dictionary definition and explanation, perception is how we acquire, interpret, and make sense of sensory information from our social and other environments.
The sensory information is gathered through our senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell—and the cognitive processes that occur in the brain to organize and interpret this sensory input.
However, in this essay, I take a sagacious and enlightened view of perception without the stimulus of sensory means.
A conscientious mind with clarity and purity of thought can generate perception even without sensory stimuli. Our intellect, judgement and psyche themselves assume a significant part in the formation and moulding of perception.
Through visualization and learned and studied experiences, the brain’s perceptual system, or the mind’s eye, generates an impulsive thought, instinct, or sentiment perceived as perception.
In this state of mind, perception flows from our cognitive and conscientious revelation, primarily as discerning and insightful thinking.
Astute thinking has played a pivotal role throughout the progress of discernment and prudence in human behaviour. It has enhanced our comprehension and judgement of human nature, the environment, and the celestial and divine worlds.
The perceptive contributions of philosophers, scholars, and saints were not based on laboratory-backed reasons or voluminous and encyclopedic readings. Their benefactions have deep roots in their astute perceptions. Take, for example, the words of wisdom and foresight from Buddha, Kabir, or Nanak.
This historical perspective underscores the profound significance of perception in understanding and shaping human nature and the environment around us. It also evokes admiration and respect for many of these great sages, saints, and scholars.
Human understanding, viewed through the lens of the mind, intelligently interprets ‘noumenon,’ a term referring to the actual objects beyond our direct sensory comprehension.
This interpretation is a fascinating testament to the power of perception released through our cognitive processes.
While perception and scientific inquiry are distinct approaches, they complement each other in fostering a deeper discernment of the world around us and unearthing new knowledge and solid information.
Perception and scientific study are not conflicting forces but complementary, creating new ideas about developing the human mind and understanding society around us.
This harmony between perception and scientific inquiry reassures us about the validity and effectiveness of both approaches in studying human nature and the social, religious, political and natural environment.
However, perception may not always align with reality, and the real itself is subjected to the unreal with time and changes in the world around us. The same holds true for perception; what we perceive today may not always accurately reflect the true nature of reality tomorrow.
Despite the expiry speculation, perception remains independent of empirical evidence gathered by sensory elements or scientific evidence.
Multiple instances exist where thinkers introduced philosophical, numinous, and spiritual perceptions with little external sensory stimuli rather than from their internal, meditative and deeper outlook.
Socrates, Leonardo de Vinci, Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant, Osho, philosopher-scientist Einstein, and many more from various disciplines grappled with the nature of perception beyond conventional sensory routes through their philosophical inquiry, mystical experiences, deep introspection or as spinoffs from scientific inquiries.
Perception has a broad and intertwined relationship with philosophy. Like most philosophical ideas, perception is a construct of the mind.
In this construction, the perception generated by ethical and moral thought plays a crucial role in shaping individual behaviour and societal norms, ultimately contributing to society’s overall well-being and functioning.
Progressive Hindu Dialogue 